Summer Reading Fluff

I know, I know, we just had that equinox thing that means it's now officially fall. And I know most people are back to school or work and wearing sweaters and boots and all that sort of thing. But here in my neck of the woods, it still feels an awful lot like summer (stupid Houston weather). Add the fact that my husband hasn't started working yet (next Monday is the official first day of work date) and we're still reveling in slow-morning-late-night-summer-schedule goodness. So excuse me if my reading taste of late is still leaning to the light and fluffy beach type reads. I promise I'll be reading something more serious soon. Maybe next week. Or the week after that. In the meantime, here's what I've been enjoying:

Austenland  by Shannon Hale

This one is pretty different than other Shannon Hale books I've read and loved, and while I don't think this is her best book, I liked it for what it was. I think if I had read this book in high school, it would've been my favorite favorite. I totally believed then that no real boy could ever live up to an Austen hero. Of course, then I met my husband, and history is history. But, I still thoroughly appreciated the Austen-obsessed-nerdiness of this book. This is not a story of substance, so don't expect much, but it is fantastic light-hearted romantic comedy. And yes, I will be seeing the movie this weekend with my sister (a birthday week GNO celebration), and I am super excited for it.

Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson

This another book I wish I could have read in high school. My 13 year old sister-in-law recommended this to me ages ago, and I'm sorry I didn't get my hands on it sooner. I see exactly why she loves it. This is the most perfect, and perfectly innocent, romance book out there. Once again, don't expect much substance or incredibly stellar writing, but if you want a nice "proper" escapist historical fiction Regency romance, this is it. Donaldson recently published another book, Blackmoore, which I'm dying to get my hands on.

Grave Mercy  by Robin LaFevers

This one was one of those free audio books I downloaded this summer (I'm still trying to work my way through all of them), but I'd never heard of it before, so I had pretty low expectations. But! I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this one (even my husband liked it, we listened to it on a recent road trip to Austin). It had a very unique historical fiction premise (13th century Brittany). Assassin nuns who serve as Death's handmaids? Some really good complex political intrigue? A nicely developed romance? A little light fantasy? What's not to like here? Fair warning, it's not even close to being completely historically accurate, so don't expect that. And if some spotty usage of Middle English phrasing bothers you, don't read this. Otherwise, I found this one to be a lot of fun, and I'm even considering looking into the next one in the series (that's saying something).